A direct conversion quadrature transmitter with digital interface in 45 nm CMOS for high-speed 60 GHz communications

Abstract

A compact 60 GHz direct conversion quadrature transmitter is designed and fabricated in 45 nm standard LP CMOS. The transmitter features an integrated power amplifier with continuous output level control and interfaces binary data signals with nominal peak-to-peak voltage swing of 300 mV. The highest measured modulation bandwidth is limited by the measurement setup to 4 GHz but is simulated to be as high as 10 GHz. In single sideband up-converting operation mode, the measured image suppression ratio is 22 dB with 36 dB of carrier suppression corresponding to approximately 8% EVM in the output signal constellation. The output RF frequency can be from 54 GHz to 66 GHz to accommodate several channels and the output power can be adjusted from −3 dBm to 10 dBm. The chip is operated from a 2 V supply and draws 180 mA current.